Five Souls
by ilaria-eugeal-tomasini
Summary: The final battle between outlaws and the sheriff costs the lives of many. Death comes on a black horse to collect their souls.


I arrived on a black horse with hooves made of fog.  
His step is light and it makes the sound of a leaf touching the snow because I always come in silence.  
Today, many will cross the threshold, but they will die in peace, without chains to hinder them and they will not need my help. If I am here, it's not for those poor souls.  
Those five, instead, need a hand to not get stuck, mired in their torments, and I'll reach out to them.  
To take my hand or reject it is a decision that will be up to them alone.

Here's the first: a funny looking young man, with hair of the color of ripe wheat and eyes as blue as the sky.  
He runs, chased by too many enemies. He has no hope and he knows it.  
He falls, pierced by many arrows, but the one that hurts the most was not shot by a soldier.  
 _My friends think I've betrayed them._  
His wide eyes reflect the color of the sky and I lean to fondle his soul.  
"They'll cry for you." I tell him. "And they will know that you had no fault."  
He is consoled and he comes to me.  
I smile and welcome him to the shelter of my coat.

I rode for many years at the side of the second one, when he thought he was completely alone. I received many of his victims, attended all his sins, but I always expected to reach out for him and now he's here.  
His heart was never so black as he thought, his soul still contained a glimmer of hope, but he has never believed it because he was always alone, no one has ever shown him the light.  
Now, in the time of his death, he smiles because someone was close to him.  
 _I am free._  
He dies thinking of going to hell, but he has already had hell in his heart while he was alive.  
Now peace awaits him.  
"Come and rest, now you're really free."  
For a moment he is in disbelief, then his soul shines while I welcome him close to my heart.

The third is the one who leaves behind most things. He went to his death savoring life for the last time, trying to end his mission as he could. He says goodbye to his closest friends, but when he feels the end approaching, he wants to be alone. He holed up like a wounded animal and he doesn't want anyone to see him die.  
I think to the soul that I just received: he, who had been alone for all his life, was desperate to have someone beside him as he died, while the other one, always surrounded by friends in life, chose to go away alone.  
He leaves behind a lot, it is true, but his heart was hoping to find a lost love. I raise the hem of my coat and leave out the soul that I brought with me.  
She has been at peace for a long time now and, before going to meet her beloved, she lingers next to the two souls who I have just welcomed.  
She smiles at first and gives a bit of her peace to the second.  
"I forgive you." She whispers, and it is enough.  
Then she goes away and soon she returns with the soul of the third.  
Both nest safe in my arms.

The fourth and fifth die together, wrapped in flames.  
They are dark, tormented souls.  
I offer them a helping hand, but they ignore it.  
The second soul that I picked up loses a bit of his luster.  
Between him and the fourth one there is so much resentment, but also the memory of a distant affection. He doesn't want to leave her in the darkness.  
I let him get near her, and this time he is the one offering his hand to her.  
"I'm sorry." He says. "I was supposed to protect you."  
And this time she takes that hand.  
"My dear brother." She sighs, clinging to him.  
She shines a little bit and they both come back together to me.  
The fifth ignores me, he doesn't want to be saved.  
His heart is black and I can't even see the smallest glow.  
"You can save yourself. It's just a small step." I tell him and he laughs, flashing the glow of a false tooth.  
"I do not care about such nonsense. I will stay here. This is my castle. "  
I know I can't convince him and I leave him behind, a ghost in the ruins of his manor.  
I close the cloak and the five souls who I've gathered cling to me, confident.  
"Let's go." I say. "We go into the light."


End file.
